A pastor and his aides were arrested for attacking a family that objected to loud prayers and threatening reporters in Sri Lanka. His followers barged into the media house that reported the incident and threatened the reporters. 6 people including the pastor were arrested in this regard. After continued protests authorities assured that the church which is an encroachment would be removed.

Hindus of Achuveli in Jaffna, Sri Lanka were frequently harassed by a pastor of the Assembly of Living Word church who tried to convert them. On Good Friday the pastor intentionally raised the volume of loudspeakers to unbearable levels. When neighbours opposed the nuisance, the pastor accused them of pelting stones at the church. The pastor and his son entered one of the neighbour’s, a bank manager, house and assaulted his family members including his children an aged mother. They went as far as strangling him.

After the affected family filed a police complaint the pastor, his son and one other were arrested but given bail. Uthayan, a local Tamil daily covered the incident and faced the wrath of the pastor and his supporters. More than 30 supporters of the pastor, including women, forcibly entered the Udayan office and demanded to know who wrote the article about the incident. When employees refused to divulge the information the mob vandalised the office and threatened them.

Uthayan Daily also filed a complaint against the pastor and his supporters based on which 6 were arrested. Meanwhile, Hindus protested against the presence of the church in the neighbourhood. Reports say that the property on which the church is being run belongs to the government. Despite complaining to relevant authorities the encroachment and harassment continued. So Hindus led by Sivasenai staged a protest in front of the encroached church to attract authorities attention to the issue.

As a result, the Secretary of the Jaffna Governor’s office and other officials visited the protestors to inquire about the issue. They assured Hindus that a report will be submitted to the Governor’s office. They also promised that steps will be taken to remove the church and to serve justice to the victims.

Missionary atrocities are on the rise in Sri Lanka as its economic situation is convenient to harvest souls easily. But Hindus are putting up a good fight to stop them and protect Dharma. Last month Hindus stopped tele-evangelist Paul Dinakaran from conducting an evangelising event in Jaffna with the help of immigrant officials.